Misdemeanor Crimes

Misdemeanor offenses are those where the maximum possible punishment is a sentence to the county jail. The maximum amount of time a person can be sentenced to county jail for any single offense is two and a half years. But it is possible, where more than one offense is charged, for the sentencing judge to give time for each offense to be served "from and after" the other offenses. Someone charged with two counts of assault and battery, for example, could receive a sentence for two and one-half years on each and thereby get a five-year county jail sentence. In practice that rarely happens, but it is a possibility.

The following are some typical misdemeanor cases that are routinely handled in the District Court:

Larceny (if the property stolen is worth less than $250 and does not include a firearm)